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WaterSense Partners of the Year Help Americans Save Water, Money on Utility Bills

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) honored five leading organizations as 2012 WaterSense Partners of the Year. WaterSense-labeled products manufactured by these organizations and more than 2,600 WaterSense partners nationwide have helped American businesses and households save 287 billion gallons of water and $4.7 billion in water and energy bills.

“WaterSense is proud to partner with these champions of water efficiency who share our mission to protect the future of our nation’s water supply,” said Nancy Stoner, EPA’s acting Assistant Administrator for Water. “The 2012 WaterSense Partners of the Year were exceptional in their efforts to support innovative approaches to help people and companies save water and money on utility bills nationwide.”

The WaterSense Partner of the Year awards program recognizes WaterSense partners who help advance the overall mission of WaterSense, increase awareness of the WaterSense brand in a measurable way, and demonstrate overall excellence in the water efficiency arena.

WaterSense recognized the following Partners of the Year for their water-saving initiatives:

Manufacturer Partners of the Year:American Standard Brands earned a Manufacturer Partner of the Year Award for developing a WaterSense-labeled toilet model that can be installed without tools. American Standard also toured the country with an educational display that demonstrated how WaterSense-labeled faucets, toilets and showerheads work.

Kohler Co., now a three-time WaterSense Manufacturer Partner of the Year, introduced its most water-efficient dual-flush toilet in 2011. Kohler also more than doubled the number of WaterSense-labeled showerheads it offers and supported and participated in the “Wasting Water Is Weird” consumer education campaign to promote water conservation.

Retailer Partner of the Year:Lowe’s Companies, Inc. became a three-time WaterSense Retailer Partner of the Year by supporting and participating in the “Wasting Water Is Weird” campaign to promote water conservation and training their sales associates on water savings and usability of WaterSense labeled products. Through their efforts, Lowe's customers saved about 4 billion gallons of water in 2011 with WaterSense products.

Promotional Partner of the Year:Colorado Springs Utilities was named the WaterSense Promotional Partner of the Year for helping a local builder create the first WaterSense-labeled home in Colorado. The utility also encouraged commercial kitchens in the area to try pre-rinse spray valves that helped save more than 20 million gallons of water.

Builder Partner of the Year:KB Home, now a two-time WaterSense Builder Partner of the Year, built nearly 100 WaterSense-labeled homes in 2011 and pushed the limits of sustainable building with a model home designed to achieve net-zero energy use and the highest levels of water and other resource efficiency.

The Partner of the Year awards were presented at the WaterSmart Innovations conference in Las Vegas, Nev. The Excellence Awards were also given at the conference to five organizations that contributed to program initiatives such as providing employee education, supporting WaterSense’s annual Fix-a-Leak Week public awareness campaign, and facilitating collaboration among stakeholders during 2011. WaterSense is a partnership program sponsored by EPA, and seeks to protect the future of our nation's water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, new homes, and services.